Lanip-wick



N.'75`2,575. PAI'BIITED PEB. 16, 1904. I I. A. MOSIIER.

LAMP WICK. APPLICATION FILED Nov. I9-, 1903. N0 MODEL.

.JIM

@Witwe/aseo UNITED STATES A JOHN A.` MOS'IIER,

LAMP-WICK. y e

'-atented I ebruary 16,l 1904.

PATENT ()EEICEl or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To THE ADAMS a WESTLAIIE COMPANY, OF ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 752,575, dated February 16` 1904.

Application nea Noventa 19, 190s. serial Norislsso. (NQ maar l To a/ZZ whom it may concern: Y

Be it known thatI, JOHN A. Mosman, a citizen of the United States, residingv at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lamp-Wicks, of which `the-following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying This invention is designed for use more particularly with such switch, semaphore, andl other signal-lamps employed in railroad-signaling las are intended to be supplied with oil only at llong intervalsesay from seven to eight days-fand to-remain without attention `such as is ordinarily required in trimming the wick,

cleaning the of time. portant not only that the wick shall have free capillaryaction, so that the oil shall be properlyl supplied to the iiamebut also that the burner, &c., for an equal length top of the wick shall be prevented from char-4 ring, and I have engaged in much experimentation with the aim of devising a Wick which shall ll the condition above-pointed ont. In theuse of ordinary forms of'wick itis customary to refill the oil-fonts and clean the wicks once in twenty-four hours, and in large railroad systems where a great` number of men are required to keep the `lamps in condition the cost ofthe lamp-service is"`excessive- Ordinary Wicks, although used with approved burners, will not burn successfully more than three or four days, for by the charring a hard crust is formed on the top of the wick, pre-4 venting the `free feeding of oil and causing the light Yto die down and. finally become extinguished. Heretofore under such circumstances men have been required at short intervals to climb the semaphore-poles, trim the Wicks,'and relight the` lamps, and unless such work is doneproperly and promptly it is obvious that Seriousdisarrangement of the signaling system of the railroad on which the lampsare employed may ensue,.resulting in v grave danger tothe traveling public;

My invention, while designed to be more v especially employed with a particular form of longtime burner, may be used with other drawings, forming part thereof. Y

, larged.

Under` such circumstances it 1s im 'three-sizteenths of an inch; but

types,or, in fact, generally. employed with lamps for railroad, marine, domestic, or other purposes. .y

In the further description of'my invention which follows reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof,` in which ,similar numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the respective figures. l, Figure I` is an exterior longitudinal view of my .improved lamp wick considerably en Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof on the line C D Fig. 3; and Fig. 3, a transverse section on the line vAB of Fig; l.

1 is a body,v preferably of woolen felt, formed into a tube or sheath, its edges being stitched together, Longitudinally and centrally of the tube or. sheath l .is placed a fibrous strand 2, preferably, of wo'ol, which is permanently inclosed within the tube and may or may not receive the stitches 3, or certain of the same, which unite the edges of said sheath. In practice I prefer to form the tube l. from a flat-blank of the material'by stitchingv its sides,` as `stated, the central ber beingy incorporated in the tube atthe time of the Stitching;'but I do not confine myself to any mode of uniting the tube and the central Strand, as the latter may be introduced to the former after the completion ofthe tube or the tube may be drawn over ,the strand.

My present `invention does not' contemplate the mode of manufacture, but relates only to the wick itself as a manufactured article.

The exterior diameter of my improved wick` at present used for long-time burners is about be varied to Suit diierent lamps. y

While the best results have been obtained by the use. of a felt tubular body. with a oenthis size may tral woolen-strand, I` do not limit myself to these materials, as similar, 'thoughY it is believed irvferionrcsults may be obtained by thev use of a 'tube of textile or other fibrous fabric with a 'central strand of fibrous non-.woolen material.

` In the use of my improved lampwick a great i saving of oil is accomplished,and Vunder favor-- able conditions it has burned without attention for as long a time as nine or ten days, and even then the extinguishment of the ame was due to an insuiicient quantity of oil.

It has been found that the central strand, 5 particularly When constituted. of Wool., in-

creases the capillary attraction, causing the oil to feed more freely, thus insuring the best combustion. Furthermore, the central Woolen strand burns away a little more rapidly than IO the surrounding felt, a pocket 4 being formed at the top in which the oil collects, thus preventing the clogging up ,or charrifngover of the top of the wick. 'w

It is believed that the advantages attending I5 the use of my invention are in great measure 'dependentfuponl'the 'fact that the outerA tube or sheath and the central strand While both of absorbent material and inducing capillary action are of' different densities, the internal 2O strand being of lesser density than the sur- 

